What Is A Nam Vet?
When The Lord Was Creating Vietnam Veterans
He Was Into His 6Th Day Of Overtime, When An Angel Appeared
"You're Certainly Doing Alot Of Fiddling Around On This One"
Said The Angel
And God Said
"Have You Seen The Specs On This Order?
A Nam Vet Has To Be Able To Run 5 Miles Through The Bush With A Full Pack On
He Must Endure With Barely Any Sleep For Days
He Must Enter Tunnels His Higher Ups Wouldn't Consider Doing
He Must Keep His Weapons Clean And Operable
He Has To Be Able To Sit In His Hole All Night During An Attack
He Has To Hold His Buddies As They Die
He Has To Walk Point In Unfamiliar Territory Known To Be VC Infested
He Has To Somehow Keep His Senses Alert For Danger
He Has To Be In Top Physical Condition
He Has To Exist On C-Rats And Very Little Rest
And He Has To Have 6 Pairs Of Hands"
The Angel Shook His Head Slowly
And Said
"6 Pair Of Hands
No Way!"
"It's Not The Hands That Are Causing Me Problems
It's The 3 Pair Of Eyes A Nam Vet Has To Have"
"That's On The Standard Model?"
Asked The Angel
The Lord Nodded
"One Pair That Sees Through The Elephant Grass
Another Pair Here In The Side Of His Head For His Buddies
Another Pair Here In Front
That Can Look Reassuringly At His Bleeding, Fellow Soldier And Say
You'll Make It
When He Knows He Won't"
The Angel Said
"Lord
Rest And Work On This Tomorrow"
"I Can't"
Said The Lord
"I Already Have A Model That Can Carry A Wounded Soldier 1,000 Yards During A Firefight
Calm The Fears Of The Latest FNG And Feed A Family Of 4 On A Grunt's Paycheck"
The Angel Walked Around The Model And Asked
"Can It Think?"
"You Bet"
Said The Lord
"He Can Quote Much Of The UCMJ
He Can Recite All Of His General Orders
He Can Engage In A Search And Destroy Mission In Less Time Than It Takes For His Fellow Americans Back Home To Discuss The Morality Of The War And Still Keep His Sense Of Humor"
"This Nam Vet Also Has A Phenomenal Personal Control
He Can Deal With Ambushes From Hell
He Can Comfort A Fallen Soldier's Family
Then He Can Read In His Hometown Paper How Nam Vets Are Baby Killers
Psychos
Addicts
And Killers Of Innocent Civilians"
The Lord Then Gazed Into The Future And Said
"He Will Also Endure Being Vilified And Spit On When He Returns Home
He Will Be Rejected And Crucified By The Very Ones That He Fought For"
Finally
The Angel Slowly Ran His Finger Across The Vet's Cheek And Said
"There's A Leak
I Told You That You Were Trying To Put Too Much Into This Model"
"That's Not A Leak"
Said The Lord
"That's A Tear"
"What's That For?"
Asked The Angel
"It's For Bottled Up Emotions
It's For Holding Fallen Soldiers As They Die
It's For Commitment To That Funny Piece Of Cloth Called The American Flag
It's For The Terror Of Living With PTSD For Decades After The War
It's For Being Alone With It's Demons, With No One To Care Or Help"
"You're A Genius"
Said The Angel, Casting A Gaze At The Tear
The Lord Looked Very Somber, As If Seeing Down Eternity's Distant Shores
"I Didn't Put It There"
He Said
Cause For Reflection
God Bless Nam Vets
Author Unknown
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